One Last Time
by KennyEchelon
Summary: Sometimes, the pressure of being King of the Macedonian Empire becomes too much...   Slight Alexander x Hephaestion shipping, 2 chapters, constructive criticism welcome.
1. Chapter 1

**One Last Time**

_**Disclaimer:**__ Although Alexander the Great and Hephaestion/Hephaistion were real people, I am using the characters from Oliver Stone's 2004 movie 'Alexander'. I do not own these characters. Set before the battle in India._

It was night time in the Eastern regions of the Macedonian empire and soft moonlight fell over the army's campsite.

Hephaestion entered the king's tent cautiously, constantly sweeping his clear blue eyes across the space to check whether anyone was near. His heart pounded; he was anxious and worried whether Queen Roxane would find out about him tiptoeing around her husband's living area. He could never stand that woman, always spying into his friendship with the king like a hawk eyeing up their prey. However, he had to appear to like her, for the sake of the king.

After he'd checked that the coast was clear, Hephaestion went to pull back the flap of fabric until he realised that it was already open. It was then that he noticed that the king wasn't there. His heart leapt up into his throat as he started to panic. The leader of the Macedonian empire can't have merely _gone_.

Adrenaline flared through him as he rushed out of the tent, heading into the leafy Indian foliage. "Please don't be dead. Please." he thought frantically "You have enemies out here… those Indian barbarians aren't going to leave you to live. You're the one who is supposed to lead us to victory not into the enemy's open jaws." He fought back the unfamiliar plants with his shoulders; his hand on his sword ready to attack.

He realised that he had no idea where he was going and he didn't care. He had to find the king.

Eventually he stumbled into an open clearing flooded with moonlight, and on the other end was a familiar blonde-haired figure gazing up at the moon. A tear built up in Hephaestion's eye as he breathed a sigh of relief. "You're safe" he thought thankfully "Alexander."

Hephaestion watched him for a while, noticing how the light of the moon gleamed on his blonde locks. Once cropped, they now flowed loosely down his shoulders, which had become more defined and muscular through years of battle. "He reaches too high, pushes too far. It's enough to make a man insane" contemplated Hephaestion "As Aristotle used to say: Excess in all things is the undoing of men."

Alexander was his best friend from childhood. It hurt to see him broken and Hephaestion could hear gentle sobs from the other end of the clearing. His chest felt close to bursting with pure love and it was all he could do not to run over to him. He slowly stepped forward, careful not to make a noise with the foliage underfoot and startle the king.

Alexander started to mutter, still staring up at the silvery orb in the night sky: "Oh Gods, I don't know what to do. Those closest to me are turning their backs to me and I cannot capture India without them. My men are mutinous and ready to strike. I need guidance. I need you to please help me."

Hephaestion put his weight on his front foot, his hand outstretched to reach out to Alexander. Suddenly, a twig under his sandal cracked.

"Hephaestion" said Alexander, without turning around "I sensed you were here. Come here my friend." Hephaestion obeyed his king and looked him in the eyes, which glistened with fresh tears, their tracks evident on his face. His expression had become hardened through war, although when he looked at his childhood friend, it was as if they were young boys again, before all the torment and hurt.

"I need you" whispered Alexander, his voice shaky. Hephaestion embraced the king, pulling him closer and wishing his pain away. The only thing he wanted was to hold Alexander until his tears dried up and he would forget the betrayal and grief. They'd lost too many people in the quest for an empire; both to death and hatred. The soldier held his king as if he was comforting a vulnerable child, desperately trying to eradicate his fear and sorrow.

A fresh wave of tears formed in Alexander's eyes as he squeezed Hephaestion tightly. He pulled back slightly and gazed into Hephaestion's blue eyes and said: "I-if I don't s-survive this battle… I-if I don't conquer India… I want you to stay with me tonight, one last time."

"Alexander" replied Hephaestion softly "I'll stay with you for eternity."


	2. Chapter 2

**One Last Time**** (Chapter 2)**

_**Disclaimer:**__ Although Alexander the Great and Hephaestion/Hephaistion were real people, I am using the characters from Oliver Stone's 2004 movie 'Alexande'r played by Colin Farrell and Jared Leto. I do not own these characters. Set during Hephaestion's final scene._

Alexander gazed out of the window, listening to Hephaestion's laboured breathing, the sound occasionally interrupted with violent coughs. He'd been praying for nights, desperately hoping that his best friend would recover.

The king had conquered nations and defeated barbarian hordes but the thought of losing his Hephaestion scared him more than anything. Even the thought of his mother's acid tongue paled in  
comparison to the death of his friend.

The doctor said it was typhus and Alexander knew that few recovered, let alone survive.

Alexander's train of thought was cut off abruptly by Hephaestion's laboured breathing. The soldier retched, blood rising in the back of his throat like the tears in Alexander's eyes. He didn't want him to die; they'd been through too much together.

Childhood. War. Death. The Persian Conquest. Marriage. India.

Hephaestion wheezed audibly. Alexander's mind flashed back to the night after they'd conquered Babylon and pain flared up in his chest. That night had been beautiful, gazing out over the quiet city, its torches flickering in the gentle breeze. Hephaestion's presence had soothed him and distracted his mind from the bitterness he felt over his mother's suspicious nature. He was the only one who believed in him; he was the only one who listened to his dreams without question.

All the others, like Cassander and Parmenion, rejected his ambition as a schoolboy fantasy. It took all he had to convince them otherwise and it wouldn't have been possible without his best friend's support. What would he do? If Hephaestion died, all of his success will have been in vain. Without him he was _nothing_.

"Remember the fates of these heroes. They suffered greatly" Hephaestion used to say, trying to remind the king that he was, after all, only human. Alexander _had_ suffered; he had lost the trust of his closest allies, the security of his own personal safety and now he may be losing the most important thing to him: the life of his most beloved friend. "In the end, all that matters is what you've done" Alexander used to reply, justifying his reckless actions and attempting to reassure his friend that he was doing the right thing.

"_Is there not love in your life, Alexander" Hephaestion said. "I wonder sometimes if it's not your mother you run from. So many years, so many miles between you. What is it that you fear?" "Who knows these things?" the king responded, trying to pass off the question as a light-hearted comment and shift the uneasy feeling inside him. _

It was losing him he feared… more than anything.

"_When I was young, my mother thought me divine. My father, weak" continued Alexander "Which am I, Hephaestion? Weak or divine? All I know is… I trust only you in this world. It is you I love, Hephaestion. No other."_

_The soldier swept the king into his arms and said softly into his ear: "You're everything I care for, and by the sweet breath of Aphrodite I'm so jealous of losing you to this world you want so badly."_

Tears welled up in Alexander's eyes as he remembered what he had said in return. _"You'll never lose me Hephaestion. I'll be with you always. 'Til the end."_

He's already lost him once, after the king's marriage to Roxane. Alexander remembered his heart breaking as he saw his best friend's eyes glazed over with tears. Hephaestion had presented him with a magnificent ring and gave his blessing to the partnership, even though he could tell it was hurting him to do so. "I'll always think of you as the sun, Alexander" he had said.

Now, the ring was displayed on the ring finger of his left hand and the king absent-mindedly toyed with it as he gazed over his friend's pale figure.

"We'll die together. We'll have children with our wives and our sons will play together as we once did." He fought to keep his voice steady as he spoke: "A thousand ships we'll launch from here, Hephaestion! We'll round Arabia, and sail up the gulf to Egypt. From there, we'll build a channel through the desert, out to the middle sea. And then we'll move on Carthage, and that great island Cecily; they'll pay large tribute."

The king wanted to believe in his own words, desperately hoping that one day they would come true. A lump formed in his throat and he swallowed then continued. "After that, the Roman tribe- good fighters, but we'll beat them. And then explore the northern forests, and add the pillars of Heracles to the western ocean. And then one day, not ten years from now, the Alexandrias will grow, populations will mix and travel freely. Asia and Europe will come together. And we'll grow old, Hephaestion, looking out our balcony at this new world."

Suddenly, it was silent. The absence of sound unnerved the king; it was too quiet to be right. Dreading what he would see when he turned around, he looked over his shoulder and his eyes met the sight he had considered a nightmare ever since he had met Hephaestion as a boy. His gaunt face and cracked lips were illuminated by a stream of sunlight peering through from between the drapes and his bloodshot eyes were now glassy and lifeless.

Alexander felt lost. His whole world had been taken from him in an instant and feeling more devastated than he had his whole life he let out a roar, wild with grief. He clutched at his companion's body, refusing to let go.

He was nothing without Hephaestion.

_Nothing._


End file.
